The general public might climb Mount Everest, skydive, or ride a roller coaster to experience an adrenalin rush. Police officers, on the other hand, experience them on a regular basis without ever having to leave their beat.
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Police adrenalin dumps (the slang I shall use) occur on fight calls, domestic violence calls and many times even when you hit the lights and siren. However, most of these thousands of calls, in time, become a blur if remembered at all.
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That said, here are 20 memorable adrenalin dumps, followed by some advice for managing a life filled with them.
1. Delivering a baby.
Nothing compares to helping bring a baby into the world, whether it happens in the back of an Uber or on a stretcher in an emergency room garage.
2. Felony foot pursuits.
All cops remember at least some of those sudden flights by felony suspects — the moment your powers of observation tell you, “He’s going to run.” Every pursuit and apprehension that ends without major injury feels like a victory.
3. Vehicle pursuits.
In spite of the love-hate relationship cops have with vehicle pursuits, they know that regardless of tactics and policies, there will always be criminals who flee in vehicles and officers compelled by circumstance to pursue. Once completed without injury, whether you hate pursuits or love them, one must conclude, “What a rush!”
4. A one-on-one fight for survival.
Every cop remembers each lonely toe-to-toe battle with suspects who are not just resisting, but trying to seriously hurt them. After prevailing in such a confrontation, one is apt to be overcome with relief, even joy, after every memorable triumph.
5. Search and find the suspect.
You remember those area searches for high-profile suspects and the dangerous exercise in hide and seek when you spotted a portion of the suspect’s body under a car or pressed into tall grass. You managed to control the rush of excitement and use proper tactics to make the apprehension safely.
6. Search to find an endangered person.
There were also those searches for the endangered child, elderly person, lost camper and or special-needs individual. When you found them alive, it resulted in a surge of incredible joy knowing they would be returned to their loving family.
7. A crowd control or SWAT team win.
While on your SWAT and or crowd control unit, you remember the riots and major high-risk situations where, because of pre-practiced team tactics, your team achieved a great outcome.
8. The arrest of “Tank Mulligan.”
Recall “Tank Mulligan,” who prided himself on how much he could bench and squat. Then came the night he had too much to drink and pounded on family, friend and foe alike. You can’t forget the epic struggle and the sweet sound of your handcuffs finally ratcheting into place. Then came the sweat rolling down your face, your heart beating in your ears, while your arms hung limp at your side like logs. Because of this challenge, you forever know what it must feel like moments after an athlete wins an Olympic event.
9. Arriving in the nick of time.
How can you ever forget the screams coming from inside the robbery, the domestic and or the residential burglary in progress and or the intended active shooter event, when you arrived to burst into the chaos in the nick of time, preventing injury or worse? Like the song says, “What a feeling!”
10. Life saves.
Memories are tattooed in your brain of the time you pulled a person out of a burning car and or a burning home. There were also the times you administered CPR to a lifeless person and heard that first breath announcing their soul’s return to their body, thanks to you. Or the time you stopped arterial bleeding, first with direct pressure and then secured life by applying your self-purchased tourniquet. You also recall each time you administered Narcan and witnessed a dead person wake up. These are among your career’s greatest hits.
11. Blood alcohol content 0.426 percent.
To the officer committed to the important mission of taking impaired drivers off the road before they kill, there will always be a rush when you realize that you not only kept the driver from killing someone else, but arrested them before the alcohol they consumed killed them.
12. “You saved my ass. Thanks!”
When you hear these words from a fellow officer you saved, a trainee you taught or a citizen rescued, the event that triggered this very special thank you will be a cherished memory ad infinitum.
13. You arrest that special person.
You will hold dear the memory of righteously arresting the person who says, “Do you know who I am?” and or “I pay your wages.” It may not have created an adrenalin rush, but it was truly special.
14. Pop the trunk and there it is.
Probable cause exists, so you pop the trunk and instantly see the safe, drugs, guns, stolen property, the victim or whatever it is you were looking for. “Gotcha!”
15. “10-78!”
The transmission will create the dump, but each time you arrive to save a brother or sister officer, both you and they will never forget it.
16. Recognition in front of your family.
Receiving official recognition for a job well done in front of your children or grandchildren is a rush times infinity.
17. “I want to be a police officer just like you.”
This is a unique type of priceless.
18. A justified impact that saves the day.
Whether it is a decisive, legally justified strike used to stop someone from taking your duty weapon, or a perfectly timed takedown that ends a dangerous flight, these moments are remembered not for the force used, but for the lives protected.
19. “Shots fired!”
This adrenalin rush will be life-altering and may be life-ending. You have prepared your whole life for this possibility and you will remember it as long as your memory survives.
20. Your last radio transmission.
This is followed by your chief or sheriff handing you your plaque at retirement. When you reach this point, you deserve to experience and savor these two moments. They are well-earned and truly unforgettable emotional rushes.
Adrenalin rush management
Cops experience adrenalin dumps by the thousands and, whether you remember them or not, your body does. An adrenalin rush is a built-in survival response — the brain floods the body with adrenalin to prepare for fight or flight. Over an entire career, countless poorly managed adrenalin dumps can take a toll, so it’s critical to blunt their negative effects by following this to-do list.
Do:
- Check yourself for injuries after events since adrenalin can camouflage pain.
- Practice survival breathing.
- Consider meditation.
- Talk things out with family, friends or, if necessary, a counselor.
- Eat a balanced diet.
- Exercise regularly. This is critical. Lifting, running, stretching and martial arts worked for me.
- Limit caffeine and alcohol intake.
- Enjoy your life in real time.
Conclusion
The most intense moments in your career will become some of your most cherished memories. I hope remembering these events makes you realize how important your career choice has been to so many people.
What you do is not just another job. It is more than just another career.
Police work is a calling. When you have memories such as these, think of how many people out there who are thankful you were called to this profession, because you were there for them in their hour of need.
Well done and keep up the great work.
Share your most memorable “adrenalin dump” below.
